Wings
by WeBaNj
Summary: Syris Lockson - A soldier in the U.S Army who has extensive gaming knowledge is thrust into the world of Final Fantasy VII against his will. All alone in a foreign world, he'll have to use his brains AND brawn in order to survive and make his way back home...if at all possible. Rating T for now, may be moved to M. Pairings to be announced later.


**AUTHOR NOTES**

Hello world, I am WeBaNj, but you can just call me Syris. Here is a little about myself before I jump into my story:

I am currently an EOD (explosive ordnance disposal) technician within the United States Army and my story will involve my job in the main story, if you're still lost it's a technical name for bomb disposal. I'm not going to go into great detail about my job or how it's done so I don't violate security. Any names and locations are not real and any missions explained are false.

Final Fantasy VII has always been my favorite, for a number of reasons. The game was released when I was 6 years old, being I was still such a young age I couldn't comprehend most of what was going on and I just blindly pressed buttons, playing file after file, becoming attached to the characters. My older brother was the one who introduced me to the game as he is 7 years older than me and so he was able to understand (for the most part) what was going on. I remember standing in line with him at Target and purchasing a single copy of the game. I would watch him play for hours on end and he would answer my questions and let me play from time to time. Cloud Strife soon became my idol and over the years I understood the story more and more, until I knew it in and out. It's a weird feeling when you know the characters so well that you sort of form a bond with them and grow with them throughout their story in the game. Over the next 16 years, I continued to play the game, the prequels and sequels and divulge myself in the Final Fantasy VII world.

In 2013, my older brother passed away, and so I dedicate this story to him, who I feel is my own personal Zack Fair. The one who took me under his wing, guided me in the right direction and tried his damn best to take care of me. I promised myself I would make him proud and live out his dreams. I hope you all enjoy, please be sure to read and review and I promise to update as soon as I can. The military life is overwhelming at times but I'll do my best, please understand. Any military lingo that you do not understand will be explained. This first chapter will mostly be how I found myself in the world of Final Fantasy VII. Without further ado, here is "Wings".

**Middle East, 2013**

_Those wings…I want them too…._

"**L**ockson, you ready to go?" I was awoken as my team leader kicked my propped up legs and knocked me off balance in my chair. Regaining my bearings, I rubbed my eyes for a moment before getting up and stretching in place, attempting to fight off the fatigue that seemed to plague us all through deployment.

"Roger Sarn't (Sergeant), fill me in." I said while stretching side to side, knowing that we were heading outside the wire. Being a close-knit community I never really had to go to parade rest while talking to my Sergeant as a Specialist.

"New incident came through, got a UXO (unexploded ordnance) along one of our major access points out of the city. " Sgt. Lytz said as he stood by the door of my hut-like room, the beads of sweat slowly streaming down his face. The climate here was unforgiving, scorching hot during the day and freezing cold during the night. Something that took a lot of time getting used to lemme tell ya. "Let the rest of the team know and meet at the truck ready to go in 5 mikes (minutes)"

"Roger that!" I replied as I got up from my chair, getting a slight head rush from standing up too fast. I quickly grabbed my patrol cap and M4 and shuffled out of my hut, making my way over to the hut of my closest friend. The sun blinded me as I exited my tent, causing me to hold my hand up over my face. You would think I'd be used to this by now. As I slowly regained my vision, I looked off into the horizon, noticing the setting sun, which caused the rest of the sky to appear as if it were on fire, something that I wish my brother was still around to see. I approached my buddies tent and entered. Casually walking inside I saw him performing maintenance on his rifle while his roommate was writing a letter home to his family.

"Yo Grant, time to head out, got another call. Third today, let's get this over with quick so we can come back and get some chow, those cooks over in the quartermaster side owe us some favors." I said with a grin, holding my hand over my stomach as it rumbled. I really just wanted to get this day over with, get some food in my stomach and get a few hours of sleep before I inevitably get called out again. "Get your shit and lets go, Sergeant is waiting" and with that, I headed outside towards the truck, just wanting to get the rest of the day over with.

I approached the truck and quickly noticed that my team leader was taking inventory of our tools in the back of the truck, ensuring our success in this mission. As a team member, I always knew I could count on him in this type of scenario. As I circled around the back of the truck, I slapped the metal with the palm of my hand to make my presence known.

"Alright, I've let everyone know, they should be here any minute, Sarn't" I said aloud over the sound of helicopters and ambient chatter. A few moments later, Grant and the rest of the team rounded the corner and arrived at the truck, weapons and gear all ready to go, they piled into the truck.

"Hop in, Lockson. Let's get this shit over with, I'm hungry as fuck." Sgt. Lytz said aloud as he slammed the back door the truck shut, signaling it was time to head out. I quickly nodded in affirmation and ran over to the passenger door of the armored truck, climbing in and securing myself to head out.

The trip seemed like it took forever, mostly because I was running through different scenarios in my head, good and bad of course. Most of them ended with me walking back into my hut and turning on the PS3 that I had shipped to me, playing Final Fantasy VII in my spare time.

When we finally arrived at the scene, approximately 400 meters away, everyone hopped out of the truck and headed to the front, forming a semi-circle with the four of us. I wiped the sweat off my forehead and slid my hands into my pockets, shrugging my shoulders.

"So, whadda we got, Sarn't?" Grant asked, his eyes hidden behind his sunglasses. He shifted his body weight and let out a long sigh.

"They say it's an artillery round down there that didn't go off, you know how forgetful those gun-bunnies (artillery men) can be with those mortars. They forget to pull the pin on the fuze and drop it down the damn tube." He paused for a moment to spit some of the dip spit out of his mouth, wiped a little off his chin and continued. "Friendly forces have secured the perimeter but there was some enemy activity before the area was secured, so we're being cautious of booby traps." Sgt. Lytz then slung his M4 over his shoulders and his plate-carrier vest. We were all in full battle-rattle (helmet, plated vest, eye pro, gloves, the whole 9 yards.) and from my estimation it could've been anywhere from 90 to 100 degrees, just our luck. I yawned and slung my M4 across my back as well and stepping forward.

"I'll go, Sarn't. I haven't gone out in a while, gotta make a living, right?" I joked as I looked around at the rest of the group. Grant was also a Specialist (Enlisted Rank 4) whereas Tills was a Private First Class, the newest member to our squad.

Sgt. Lytz looked around to see if anyone had objected to my proposition, knowing that usually the Team Leader was supposed to be the first one out, but he and I both knew that I had plenty of experience and could handle it.

"Alright, Lockson, you're up. I'll let the friendly forces know you're heading down. Grant, Tills, prep the tools for when Lockson comes back from the reconnaissance so we can hurry this the hell up." As soon as he was done speaking, I double checked my plate-carrier, helmet, boots and pretty much my entire uniform, ensuring everything was good to go. We're all in our Multi-Cams with our tan boots. Name and rank printed on our uniforms along with our blood type and a brassard patch that says "EOD". Feeling satisfied with the results, I turned to Sgt. Lytz and nodded, signaling that I was ready to go.

"Head out now, be careful and if anything feels wrong, you turn your ass around and head back, ya hear?" He said while he put his hand on my shoulder. I looked up at him and grinned.

"Roger that, Sarn't. No need to worry about me." And with that, I turned around and started 'the long walk' techs call it. I observed my surroundings as I walked, taking mental notes of possible enemy locations, and also seeing the supporting friendly forces pulling security 360 degrees around us, making sure we came under no enemy fire.

"Alllllright…just another day…" I said aloud to myself, sighing as well. When I finally came within about 30 feet of the ordnance, I could see that it was in fact an artillery round. I let out a sigh of relief, knowing that this would be quick as I could still see the safety pin in the nose. I slid my sleeves up, my sleeve tattoos quickly revealing themselves. I slowly approached the artillery round, my heart rate slowly starting the beat, the sun beaming down on me, what a perfect day.

As I got a few feet away from the ordnance I saw something out of the corner of my eye…something unusual. My heart felt like it dropped into my stomach and my adrenaline started pumping. I knew exactly what I was looking at, something I had hoped I wouldn't see: Wires. They were leading off quite a ways, meaning that most likely there was an IED (improvised explosive device) in close proximity to me, or right below me. With mind racing, I slowly started to examine the area, my eyes following the wires to their destination.

"Son of a…" I said to myself, barely above a whisper as I saw the end of the wires, which had an insurgent on the other end, ready to blow me to oblivion. I turned around as fast as I could to try and run away but it was too late. There was a flash of light, I was thrown off of my feet and there was intense heat. It felt like my skin was melting off my bones…and then…nothing.

Just like that, the pain, the heat, the force of the blast, everything was gone. It felt as if my body was floating in nothingness…an oddly comforting feeling. I slowly opened my eyes and saw exactly what I thought, nothing.

"So..this is death huh?" I thought to myself as my weightless body floated around.

Below me, a flash of light blinded me for a few moments followed by a stream of green liquid that slowly made its way out of thin air. It grew and grew, looking like a snake coming out of a hole. The mysterious green substance danced and raveled around me, sparkling and shimmering, it was actually quite beautiful. It expanded under me and formed a sort of bed, allowing me to rest on it. I'm not actually sure how much time had passed in this…place, but one thing I knew for sure was that nothing else really mattered. For once I was at peace, my mind at ease and no worries. I laid my head back and closed my eyes.

But alas, my rest was cut short when I violently started plummeting down through the void. I let out a scream as I fell, looking around for something, anything to grab on to. But before I could, I slammed hard down onto ground, landing on an unknown object. My crash was quite noisy, with bottles and whatever the hell else there was, thrown about and smashing against the concrete.

"What the hell, man…" I coughed as I spoke aloud with sharp pains shooting through my back and head, but I seemed to still be in one piece.

I managed to plant a hand on the ground to help push myself onto my feet. I looked around to see that I was in an alley of some sort and had landed on a pile of garbage…a pretty nasty pile of garbage. I walked out of the alley way along a gravel path and noticed that the sky was an eerie black, like the sun had been blocked out. Street lights illuminated the path ways with buildings all around, and people milling about. None of whom looked familiar. I looked down and I was still wearing my camouflage uniform with my tan boots, my cap with my rank and last name on it, but my plated vest, helmet and my rifle were nowhere to be seen.

People who walked by glared at me, giving me confused looks. Which struck me as odd, I mean who hasn't seen a member of the military before?

As I made my way down the street, I figured I was getting closer to a population center as I could see more neon lights and hear the chatter and bustle of people and cars alike, and of course with my curiosity, how could I not investigate?

That's when I saw it. I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw what looked like a theatre, with a poster of a woman on top…and when I looked under the poster I saw the bright sign.

'LOVELESS'

**A/N 2:**

**Well, hope you enjoyed chapter one. I know there wasn't much Final Fantasy VII in this chapter, but I wanted to try and give a detailed background before I just jumped into the FFVII universe. I've wanted to do this story for a while now but I never had time to do it. I plan to update every Sunday, but I'll be sure to let you all know if I have to push it back a few days. I plan for every chapter to be around 2500-3000 words apiece, but we'll see how that goes. **


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